National Junior Club League

We are pleased to say that Gransdens LTC are again putting teams in the National Junior Club League. The leagues are - Boys 17U, Girls 13U and Boys 13U. If you would like to represent any of the teams in the league, please speak to Jan Foster or Chris Johnson.

They can all be contacted via email at mail@gransdensltc.co.uk

ATTENTION ALL JUNIOR TENNIS CLUB MEMBERS

12 AND UNDER:

JUST TO CONFIRM THAT SESSIONS FOR JUNIORS AGED 12 AND UNDER WILL CONTINUE AT 12.00 NOON ON SATURDAYS.THESE ARE SOCIAL SESSIONS (NOT COACHING) TO ALLOW YOU ALL TO PRACTISE YOUR TENNIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS. THERE IS NO MINIMUM AGE, BUT YOU MUST BRING A PARENT WITH YOU. SOME KEEN PLAYERS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN THE WINTER LADDER  MATCHES AT SATURDAY SESSIONS, AND WE HOPE LOTS MORE OF YOU WILL JOIN IN. THE WINNERS OF THE SUMMER LADDER WERE SAM BURLES FOR LEAGUE 1 AND JEMIMA FAUX FOR LEAGUE 2. I HAVE MEDALS TO PRESENT TO YOU NEXT TIME YOU COME!

TEEN TENNIS:

FROM THIS FRIDAY 7TH NOVEMBER WE WILL RUN SOCIAL CLUB SESSIONS FOR TEENAGERS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE END OF THE COACHING SESSION - 7.00 PM. THOSE WHO ARE SIGNED UP TO THE COACHING CAN PLAY ON, AND THOSE WHO CAN'T MAKE THE COACHING WILL BE ABLE TO TURN UP AT 7.00. THE INTENTION IS TO RUN A "ROLLING" AMERICAN DOUBLES TOURNAMENT OVER THE SIX WEEK BLOCK, WITH A MEDAL FOR THE EVENTUAL WINNER. PIZZA AND HOT CHOCOLATE WILL BE PROVIDED TO KEEP THE WEATHER AT BAY.

I KNOW THIS DOESN'T SUIT EVERYBODY, BUT SATURDAYS WERE ALSO PROVING DIFFICULT FOR A NUMBER OF YOU, SO IT'S WORTH A TRY.

Jan Foster

 

LEAGUES

A busy summer for junior tennis players at Gransdens LTC, with teams entered in 2 different leagues at all age groups from mini red (8U) to U16 and over 30 of our junior members competing in those leagues. Well done everybody! We had some good wins, and many hard-fought struggles as well as some painful losses, but the future looks rosy. Congratulations to the U14 boys team who won their division of the AEGON league – a great achievement, so well done Laurence, Josh, Jeremy, John, Ollie, Tim and George, all of whom represented that team during the season.

 

TOURNAMENTS

We hosted several mini tournaments at the Gransdens this summer, again a new venture for us, and it was good to see our own members taking part in those events. October half-term will see us hosting mini red, orange and green tournaments on Monday 26 th October, and it would be great to have as many entries as possible from our own club members. Tuesday 27 th will provide an opportunity for U12 and U14 players to participate as we host tournaments in those age groups too. Further details are available in the clubhouse. Congratulations to our junior members who have been competing regularly in tournaments across the county, region and country: Josh,Alice, John, Laurence, Anna, Lauren and any others who might not have got round to telling me about it!

 

CLUB TOURNAMENTS

The junior club tournaments kicked off this summer with the Road to Wimbledon competition open to boys aged 14 and under. Our club winner was Laurence Kean, who went forward to the county round where he was narrowly defeated. As part of his consolation Laurence was invited to Wimbledon for the day, where he had a tour of the ground, lunch in the players’ restaurant, and coaching on the grass courts with Tim Henman. A picture of Laurence with Tim is on display in the clubhouse. The Family Cup was played in early July, keenly contested by 10 pairs, ranging in age from 4 to …..? and eventually won by Adam and Trevor Peer. Well done! Our singles tournaments were this year held at the beginning of September as part of the Gransdens Tennis Week, on a warm sunny day, and the trophies were carried off by Lauren Wilson (8U & 12U girls), Seb Faux(12U boys), and John Taylor (16U boys). Well done to all of those who took part and enthralled the spectators with a high standard of tennis. Many thanks to the organisers and caterers – it’s a long day with the score sheets! The American Doubles tournament will now be played on Saturday 10 th October at 1.00 pm. This is open to players aged 11 and over, and is made up of 3 matches with 3 different partners playing 3 different sets of opponents. Partnerships are drawn out of a hat, and the player with the most number of games won emerges as winner. Always good fun and a very sociable event. If you’d like to play please contact Jan on 01767 677082 or sign up on the board at the clubhouse.

 

COACHING

The coaching programme has been extended to 3 afternoons a week this Autumn, so you can find a session to suit you on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays. Places are still available for this block of lessons, particularly on Mondays, so if you haven’t yet signed up, please contact Chris (07956 365301) or Adrian (07760160366) as soon as possible.

 

 

CLUB SESSIONS

Junior club sessions continue to take place on Friday evenings at 7.00(11 and over),Saturday mornings at 11.00 (8 and under) and 12.00 (10 and under). A reminder also of the teen session at 1.30 on Sundays – this is an ideal opportunity to come along with parents and friends to practise your game. A plea for more girls at all age groups! Please come along, and persuade your friends to come with you. Rackets, balls and refreshments are all provided, and we like to keep the atmosphere as relaxed as possible – just come along and have fun. NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED!!

 

TESCO VOUCHERS

Many thanks to everyone who brought us their Tesco vouchers. We had more than ever before, and were able to buy new orange and green balls for mini tennis, as well as 3 new rackets. Much appreciated.

 

CLUB CLOTHING

We are hoping to place another order for tennis club clothing shortly. If you would like to have a look at our club polo shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies, or would like to find out about prices, please contact Nicola on 677968.

 

JUNIOR TENNIS ASSISTANT

We are looking for a young junior member to assist us with our junior programme. The club is prepared to fund the training (provided by the LTA) to become a Tennis Assistant. The LTA course is generally run over a weekend, and held at Hills Road Tennis Centre, and Adrian has offered to help prepare the successful candidate for the course. We are looking for someone aged 15 or over who is reliable and prepared to put in the time and commitment required. This is a valuable qualification, which will be very useful in the future and which will definitely enhance any young person’s CV. Once trained, we would expect the assistant to help with club sessions, tournament organisation and coaching, and this would be a paid position, at an hourly rate of £8. Anyone interested in this position should contact Jan on 01767 677082 or email njflap@btinternet.com

 

CALLING ALL PARENTS

In an effort to share the load, we would like to encourage parents to help us run club sessions on Saturday mornings. Adrian has offered to give us all some ideas on how to make the sessions work for the juniors, and I’d love to hear from any parents who’d be prepared to help us out in this way. You don’t have to be a tennis player, just a parent with tennis playing offspring! Once again, contact Jan on 677082, or let me know at a club session